es-175vs

Hi
I just picked up an Epi ES175VS. So far I am very happy with the sound (I play country, rock, folk etc etc and oh yeah... a tiny bit of jazz)... anyone else here know much about these guitars? Also, should I remove the plastic from underneath the bridge? I am going to adjust the postion as the intonation is a bit off.
Also, can anyone tell me the setup specs for this guitar...ie...string height at 12th fret.
Thanks for any responses.

Welcome! Cool guitar. Yes, as mentioned, remove the plastic - though if you have a heavy right hand you might consider one of the many tricks that are out there to keep that bridge from floating around too much and throwing off your intonation...

[quote name='12stringer]Also' date=' should I remove the plastic from underneath the bridge? I am going to adjust the postion as the intonation is a bit off.[/quote']

Well, when I bought my Broadway I had the same question. The guitar tech in the shop strictly recommended to leave it on. He said otherwise the bridge will start moving around on the top, as the top finish is somewhat slippery due to the polyurethane finish. That plastic foam stripe prevents the the bridge from moving on the top. I just did cut away the excess around the bridge carefully without scratching the top finish. The guitar tech also told me the plastic does not have negative impact on the intonation.

[quote]Also, can anyone tell me the setup specs for this guitar...ie...string height at 12th fret.[/quote]

Depends on the string gauge you are using. I have 0.12 gauge on my Broadway, and it's set to app. 3/32" on the bass side and 1/16" on the treble side, pretty much like you would have on a steel string acoustic. This is a bit higher than you would set e.g. on a Les Paul with 0.10 gauge strings.

Thanks for the replies guys. I just finished setting up the intonation and the plastic is off already so i will have to keep an eye on intonation for a bit to see if I should maybe get the bridge pinned or put the plastic back.
Time for a bit of playing!

I just finished putting the epi through it's paces and I am very pleased witht the variety of sounds it produces...I do some home recording and will definitely be using this baby on some of the songs I record. Great guitar!

It's nice to see a fellow Mrs. Sauga guitarist! Where did you get her? I do believe I saw one at Long&McQuade.

Hi Mississoggy[biggrin] . Yes, the one at Longe & Mcquade (Mississauga) is the one I took home. I was suprised that I liked it slightly better than the 5120 Gretsch they had there. I think it was because the epi did not have a block of wood under the bridge so it sounds a bit more smooth and open (to my ears). The funny thing was that they had a price of $780 on it and when I took it up to the sales desk to ask about it, the guy said the price is $585. All of a sudden it looked like the best deal! Do you think they have a new sales technique? LOL...
So anyhow, I played it last night and it was hard to put it down.

I just picked up a little vox pathfinder 10 for practice...nice little amp. This guitar is nothing short of awesome. I love the neck profile and the way it fits my hand. Very comfortable guitar to play. The body is not too big and definitely not too small....just right I think. Gues that is why the Gibsons were legendary...they got it right all those years ago.

I picked up my ES-175 reissue in October at Drome Sound in Schenectady, NY for $416, plus another $80 for the hard case. I had a friend of a friend who works at a different music store do the setup for me (she needs the $$, as a college student) and I've got D'Addario EXL115W strings (unwound G) at her recommendation.

She told me that she really doesn't like Epis or Gibsons, before she she this one up, but when she brought it back to me, and I asked what she thought, she just gushed "I LOVE this guitar!"

I still haven't plugged it in, other than at the shop. I was in the market for an arch top acoustic, and the 175 had the best sound of everything I tried, richer bass and better sustain (remember - this is playing unplugged!), probably because of the deeper body.

I'm not playing much lately, having torn a tendon in my left arm last year, but have gotten up to 30 minutes a day (as physical therapy) following my surgery - mostly folk music, and 8 bar blues progressions.

She's got a sweet sound, although the pick guard buzz has returned, and I've got poor enough finger control that I have problems with harmonics.

But now that I have the little Epi 15R amp, I may just have to plug her in. I've noticed that my Ovation sounds exactly the same through the amp as acoustic, albeit louder and with a touch of reverb for some blues,so I'm looking forward to a similar experience with the 175.

(Drome Sound is an official Epi/ Gibson dealer, and I started buying strings and picks from them in the late 60s. The current owner started working there around the same time, and bought the store form his cousins a couple of years ago. While I've known him for a good 45 years or so, I get the same discounts as just about anyone else - the ES was marked as $899 list/ $416 sell, and that's what I paid for it. The Joe Pass and Sheraton models at $506 were tied for second place, though...)

Those little epi amps are nice...and your es175 will sound great through it. I just picked up a little digitech multi effects pedal (the discontinued 50 model)...all I can say is wow....nice reverb and amp models along with other effects too numerous to mention. i am really set with rich sound now!
You mentioned playing yours unplugged while searching for a guitar...the 175 does have a very nice, musical sound unplugged...it's no martin dreadnaught but for late night practice...folk songs are definitely within it's grasp. The unplugged pleasing sound was a definite factor when I bought it. I am just now finding out it's depth plugged in to my inexpensive setup...paid $50 for the pathfinder 10 and an amazing $20 for the pedal (everything used of course thanks to Kijiji and local sellers). Play on!

[quote name='LongMan]The guitar tech in the shop strictly recommended to leave it on. He said otherwise the bridge will start moving around on the top' date=' as the top finish is somewhat slippery due to the polyurethane finish. That plastic foam stripe prevents the the bridge from moving on the top. I just did cut away the excess around the bridge carefully without scratching the top finish. The guitar tech also told me the plastic does not have negative impact on the intonation.[/quote']
Whaaaaaat?

Apparently the "guitar tech" is not familiar with the physics of acoustic coupling.

Do D'Aquisto, D'Angelico, or Benedetto recommend leaving the foam on?

That's crazy talk...

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." -- Albert Einstein

Apparently the "guitar tech" is not familiar with the physics of acoustic coupling.

At least the guitar was the only one with a straight neck and error free finish I could find around here (overall I saw 5 of them in different shops), and it had an excellent setup done in the shop before putting it on display. So I had the impression the guy knows his job.

Quote

Do D'Aquisto, D'Angelico, or Benedetto recommend leaving the foam on?

For sure they don't :-) But this are state of the art luthiers. I would think they do shape every bridge thoroughly to the particular guitar it's going to be mounted on. And they use nitrocellulose finish that isn't that slippery as polyurethane finish.

Quote

That's crazy talk...

Maybe you are right. Do you think I should remove the plastic under the bridge? Now the guitar is set up quite well, proper intonation (I didn't believe this was possible with a fixed bridge), comfortable action with no string buzz at all. Is it worth the risk to loose that great setup just for the sake of getting rid of the small piece of plastic you don't see anyway? I don't have the impression the compressed piece of foam does harm the tone.
As you seem to have good knowledge of archtops (the Broadway was my first archtop): Do you think it would make sense to fix the bridge base on the top, and replace the pre-shaped rosewood top piece with a TOM type metal bridge like on the ES-175?

Do you think I should remove the plastic under the bridge? Now the guitar is set up quite well, proper intonation (I didn't believe this was possible with a fixed bridge), comfortable action with no string buzz at all. Is it worth the risk to loose that great setup just for the sake of getting rid of the small piece of plastic you don't see anyway? I don't have the impression the compressed piece of foam does harm the tone.
As you seem to have good knowledge of archtops (the Broadway was my first archtop): Do you think it would make sense to fix the bridge base on the top, and replace the pre-shaped rosewood top piece with a TOM type metal bridge like on the ES-175?

Just a few ideas for you if I may...with acoustic guitars, the more solid the connection between the strings and the soundboard the better the tone will be (In general)...If you remove the plastic there are 3 things to consider...

1) the tone will be slightly better,

2) the bridge will have to be moved very, very slightly forward (towards the nut) to maintain proper intonation...(if intonation is good already as you say, there is no need to go to a tuneomatic style bridge),

3) there is a very small chance that you may have some string buzz, however, the thickness of the plastic is so small that I doubt it will cause any string buzz....if it does you can insert a very thin wood shim (cut to size), like the ones luthiers use to raise saddles.

Maybe you are right. Do you think I should remove the plastic under the bridge? Now the guitar is set up quite well, proper intonation (I didn't believe this was possible with a fixed bridge), comfortable action with no string buzz at all. Is it worth the risk to loose that great setup just for the sake of getting rid of the small piece of plastic you don't see anyway? I don't have the impression the compressed piece of foam does harm the tone.
As you seem to have good knowledge of archtops (the Broadway was my first archtop): Do you think it would make sense to fix the bridge base on the top, and replace the pre-shaped rosewood top piece with a TOM type metal bridge like on the ES-175?

Yes, absolutely, the foam should come out - it's just there to protect the guitar in shipping.

The direct coupling of the string vibration via the bridge to the resonant top of the guitar is an essential part of any jazz guitar's tone.

The string pressure will hold the bridge in place even on a poly finished guitar, and if it slips during the foam removal, it's very easy to reset the intonation with a decent guitar tuner.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." -- Albert Einstein